Disciotis venosa

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Disciotis venosa
2005-04-23 Disciotis venosa.jpg
Mature specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Fungi
Division:
Ascomycota
Class:
Pezizomycetes
Order:
Pezizales
Family:
Morchellaceae
Genus:
Disciotis
Species:
D. venosa
Binomial name
Disciotis venosa
(Pers.) Boud. (1893)
Synonyms [1]
  • Peziza venosaPers. (1801)
  • Discina venosa(Pers.) Fr. (1822)
  • Discina venosa var. rabenhorstii Sacc. (1889)
  • Disciotis venosa f. radicansPerco (1994)

Disciotis venosa, commonly known as the bleach cup, veiny cup fungus, or the cup morel is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae. Fruiting from April, they are often difficult to locate because of their nondescript brown color.

Contents

Found in North America and Europe, D. venosa appears to favor banks and slopes and sheltered sites. Although edible, it may be difficult to identify without microscopy.

Taxonomy

The fungus was first described as Peziza venosa by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1801, from collections made near Klagenfurt, Austria. [2] Jean Louis Émile Boudier transferred it to Disciotis in 1893. [3]

Bruno Perco described the form Disciotis venosa f. radicans from collections made in Italy. [4]

The specific epithet venosa, meaning "veined", refers to the veins on the inner cup surface. Common names for the species include bleach cup, [5] veiny cup fungus, [6] and cup morel. [7]

Description

Young, cup-shaped fruit bodies Aderige Morchelbecherling Disciotis venosa 2.JPG
Young, cup-shaped fruit bodies

Fruit bodies produced by this fungus are cup- or disc-shaped, up to 20 centimetres (8 inches) wide. The interior surface of the cup, the hymenium, is dark brown. It tends to become folded into vein-like markings with age, hence the specific epithet venosa. [8] [9] The exterior surface is a whitish color, covered with pustules. [8] There is a short stipe that anchors the cup to the ground. [10] Although young fruiting bodies are cup-shaped, when they are 7 to 8 cm (2+3⁄4 to 3+1⁄4 in) in diameter, the apothecia split and flatten down to lie in the soil. They are very brittle. The fruit bodies have been estimated to have a lifespan of up to 12 weeks. [8] The flesh of the fungus has a bleach-like odor when it is broken. [10]

Microscopic characteristics

The spore are elliptical and smooth, with dimensions of 21–24 by 12–14  μm. The asci (spore-bearing cells), are 370–400 by 18–20 μm, while the paraphyses are stout and club-shaped, with tips that are up to 12 μm wide. [6]

Similar species

Species that may resemble D. venosa most notably include several species of genus Peziza which belong to the family of true cup fungi (unlike D. venosa which is actually a morel) and include some poisonous ones. Peziza species generally lack an odor, [11] have thinner flesh than D. venosa, and will turn a dark blue color if a drop of iodine solution is placed on it. [7] Additionally, the tips of asci in Peziza species will stain blue with iodine, a feature that can be observed with a light microscope. [10]

Another lookalike, the closely related "thick cup" or "pig's ears" Discina ancilis (also known as Discina perlata or Gyromitra perlata), is edible (or at least not poisonous - its palatability is disputed), has an inner cup surface that is comparatively reddish-brown, [11] and folded, wrinkled, or sometimes smooth, rather than veined. Its outer cup surface has small tufts of hairs arranged in clumps. [12]

Disciotis venosa
Information icon.svg
Smooth icon.pngSmooth hymenium
Infundibuliform cap icon.svg Cap is infundibuliform
NA cap icon.svg Hymenium attachment is not applicable
Bare stipe icon.svgNA cap icon.svg Stipe is bare or lacks a stipe
Transparent spore print icon.svg
Transparent spore print icon.svg
 Spore print is cream to yellow
Saprotrophic fungus.svgEcology is saprotrophic
Mycomorphbox Edible.pngMycomorphbox Choice.pngEdibility is edible or choice

Distribution and habitat

D. venosa is found in North America [13] (between April and June, especially from the Lower Midwest to New York) [11] and Europe (including Bulgaria, [14] Sweden, [15] Spain, [16] and Wales). [8] It also occurs in Turkey, where it is considered critically endangered. [17]

The fungus is typically found growing on the ground among mossy or needle-covered soil among conifers; they are often difficult to notice because their brown color typically blends into the background. They have been noted to prefer to grow on banks or slopes rather than flat areas. [8] This species is also referred to as a "snowbank mushroom" because fruit bodies typically appear around the edges of melting snowbanks. [18] In Europe, the fungus typically fruits from March to May. [10]

Uses

D. venosa is a choice edible mushroom, [6] although one author notes that only collectors who have the equipment to check its microscopic characters should consider consuming the species, as it may be confused with several other brown cup fungi. [13]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Sarcoscypha coccinea</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Paragyromitra infula</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Disciotis</i> Genus of fungi

Disciotis is a genus of fungi in the family Morchellaceae. Members of this family, characterized by their cup- or bowl-shaped apothecia, have a widespread distribution, especially in northern temperate regions.

<i>Bisporella citrina</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Geopyxis carbonaria</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Peziza praetervisa</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Verpa bohemica</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Helvella acetabulum</i> Species of fungus

Helvella acetabulum is a species of fungus in the family Helvellaceae, order Pezizales. This relatively large cup-shaped fungus is characterized by a tan fruit body with prominent branching ribs resembling a cabbage leaf; for this reason it is commonly known as the cabbage leaf Helvella. Other colloquial names include the vinegar cup and the brown ribbed elfin cup. The fruit bodies reaches dimensions of 8 centimetres (3 in) by 4 cm tall. It is found in Eurasia and North America, where it grows in sandy soils, under both coniferous and deciduous trees.

<i>Sarcosphaera</i> Genus of fungi

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<i>Wynnea americana</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Plectania nannfeldtii</i> Species of fungus

Plectania nannfeldtii, commonly known as Nannfeldt's Plectania, the black felt cup, or the black snowbank cup fungus, is a species of fungus in the family Sarcosomataceae. The fruit bodies of this species resemble small, black, goblet-shaped shallow cups up to 3 cm wide, with stems up to 4 cm long attached to black mycelia. Fruit bodies, which may appear alone or in groups on the ground in conifer duff, are usually attached to buried woody debris, and are commonly associated with melting snow. Plectania nannfeldtii is found in western North America and in Asia, often at higher elevations. Similar black cup fungi with which P. nannfeldtii may be confused include Pseudoplectania vogesiaca, P. nigrella, and Helvella corium.

<i>Hygrophorus purpurascens</i> Species of fungus

Hygrophorus purpurascens, commonly known as the purple-red waxy cap, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Hygrophoraceae. Its cap has a pink background color with streaks of purplish red overlaid, and mature gills have red spots.

<i>Peziza phyllogena</i> Species of fungus

Peziza phyllogena, commonly known as the common brown cup or the pig-ear cup, is a species of fungus in the family Pezizaceae. A saprobic species, the fungus produces brownish, cup-shaped fruit bodies that grow singly or in clusters on either soil or well-rotted wood. It is found in Europe, North America, and Iceland, where it fruits in the spring.

<i>Peziza domiciliana</i> Species of fungus

Peziza domiciliana, commonly known as the domicile cup fungus, is a species of fungus in the genus Peziza, family Pezizaceae. Described by English mycologist Mordecai Cubitt Cooke, the fungus grows on rotten wood, drywall/plasterboard, and plaster in homes, damp cellars, and basements. It is known from Asia, Europe, North America, and Antarctica.

<i>Peziza varia</i> Species of fungus

Peziza varia, commonly known as the spreading brown cup fungus, Palomino cup or recurved cup, is a species of fungus in the genus Peziza, family Pezizaceae.

<i>Discina ancilis</i> Species of fungus

Discina ancilis, commonly known as pig's ears is a brown to tannish, wrinkled, cup- or ear-shaped fungus, sometimes with short, stout stalk. The spores of D. ancilis are quite similar to those of mushrooms in the genus Gyromitra, so that some mycologists classify it there.

References

  1. ↑ "Species synonymy: Disciotis venosa (Pers.) Arnould, Bull. Soc. mycol. Fr. 9: 111 (1893)". Species Fungorum. CAB International. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  2. ↑ Persoon CH. (1801). Synopsis methodica fungorum (in Latin). Göttingen, Sweden. p. 638.
  3. ↑ "Rapport sur les excursions faites par la Société Mycologique de France pendant la session de 1893". Bulletin de la Société Mycologique de France (in French). 9 (2): 111. 1893.
  4. ↑ Perco B. (1994). "Contributo alla conoscenza del genere Disciotis. Primo ritrovamento della nuova forma Disciotis venosa (Pers.: Fr.) Boud. fo. radicans fo. nov". Rivista di Micologia (in Italian). 37 (1): 53–58.
  5. ↑ Roberts P, Evans S (2011). The Book of Fungi. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. p. 562. ISBN   978-0-226-72117-0.
  6. 1 2 3 Tylutki EE. (1979). Mushrooms of Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. Moscow, Idaho: University Press of Idaho. p. 35. ISBN   0-89301-062-6.
  7. 1 2 McKnight VB, McKnight KH (1987). A Field Guide to Mushrooms, North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 37. ISBN   0-395-91090-0.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Brown RP. (1980). "Observations of Sarcoscypha coccinea and Disciotis venosa in North Wales during 1978–1979". Bulletin of the British Mycological Society. 14 (2): 130–135. doi:10.1016/S0007-1528(80)80008-3.
  9. ↑ Seaver FJ. (1917). "Photographs and descriptions of cup-fungi—V. Discina venosa". Mycologia. 9 (2): 53–54. doi:10.2307/3753343. JSTOR   3753343.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Kibby G. (2000). "Fungal portraits. No. 4: Disciotis venosa". Field Mycology. 1 (3): 111–112. doi: 10.1016/S1468-1641(10)60057-6 .
  11. 1 2 3 Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 34. ISBN   978-0-593-31998-7.
  12. ↑ Beug MW, Bessette AE, Bessette AR (2014). Ascomycete Fungi of North America: A Mushroom Reference Guide. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 141. ISBN   978-0-292-75452-2.
  13. 1 2 Weber NS, Smith AH (1980). The Mushroom Hunter's Field Guide. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. pp. 36–37. ISBN   0-472-85610-3.
  14. ↑ Dimitrova E. (2011). "Disciotis venosa". Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria. Volume 1. Plants and Fungi. Digital edition. Joint edition of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences & Ministry of Environment and Water. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
  15. ↑ Ryman S. (1978). "Swedish Pezizales of spring and early summer". Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift. 72 (4): 327–340.
  16. ↑ Losantos AP, Carretero JC (1981). "Mycologic notes on Navarra Spain 1. New provincial and peninsular records". Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid (in Spanish). 38 (1): 19–24.
  17. ↑ Çinar H, Sermenli HB, Işiloğlu M (2014). "Some critically endangered species From Turkey" (PDF). Fungal Conservation (4): 26–28.
  18. ↑ Arora D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi. Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press. p. 46. ISBN   0-89815-169-4.
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